After three days of tryouts his freshman year at Lipscomb coach Don Meyer told Greg Glenn he wasn’t going to make the Bisons basketball team as a player, but he was more than welcome to be a part of the program as a student assistant coach. With injuries becoming an issue in the 1985-86 season Glenn and Duwain Houston were asked if they would like to join the team as players. They jumped at the chance and were part of the team that won the 1986 NAIA National Championship in Kansas City. Glenn and his family live in Houston, Texas where he is head of school for Westbury Christian School. As a basketball coach at the school his teams won 12 state championships. He was in Nashville last week with his school’s basketball team and dropped by campus. He talked with Lipscombsports.com during his visit.

What sport did you play at Lipscomb? What years? Who were your coaches?

“We had three days of tryouts for basketball my freshman year under coach Don Meyer. The second day he just tried to run us out of there. By the third day there were only a few of left. He told us he wasn’t going to keep any of us, but he invited us to come by the basketball office and see him.

“I came by his office and 10 minutes later I was collating papers. The next thing I knew I was a student assistant. That was the Coach Meyer way. That was probably one of the best opportunities of my life.”

What is your fondest athletic memory at Lipscomb?

“It would be hard to top winning the NAIA National Championship. That was a special time with a special group of people.
“We were only practicing about eight guys because of injuries that season. Coach Meyer pulled Duwain Houston and me into his office one day and asked if we wanted to play or coach. We thought he was teasing. We went to practice to do our normal routines as student assistants and the next thing we knew we had lockers with our names on them. We had fun. It was a great opportunity.”

Who had the biggest influence on you during your athletic career at Lipscomb? How?

“Coach Meyer is still having an effect on my life today. He is an amazing person.

“I lost my father when I was young. I have a stepfather who stepped in and did tremendous things. But coach Meyer filled a hole for me and filled a role for me that only he could do. The basketball side was big, but the life part was much bigger.

“He took an interest in me. I had an opportunity to travel, recruit and scout and attend clinics. I thank God for that opportunity.

“Coach Meyer put out a publication and in it he wrote that I was going to teach and coach. When he wrote it I knew that I should be teaching and coaching. I was studying accounting at the time, but when I read that I moved over to math education and started coaching.”

What is your fondest non-athletic memory from your time at Lipscomb?

“It was all about the whole Lipscomb experience for me. I pledged Alpha Kappa Psi. I was going in the accounting direction. But living the life at Lipscomb was second to none for me.”

What is the most valuable thing you gained or learned from your time at Lipscomb?

“I learned a work ethic, a mental toughness and a compassion for people. Hopefully that translates into servant leadership because I know that is what coach Meyer was trying to inspire and lead us all into. I know it is serving me well now in Christian education.”

Who was your favorite professor? Why?

“I have a couple. Doy Hollman would be one of them. I took him for statistics. He was very serious but he had a way of making math fun.

“I also had Keith Nikolaus in education. He was outstanding.

“His father, Marvin, taught me calculus for four years. He just cared about me. I had dinner over at his house a half a dozen times as a student.”

Where do you live now?

“I live in Houston, Texas. My e-mail address is gregjglenn@westburychristian.org.

Who is your employer? What is your occupation? What does your position entail?

“I serve as the head of school at Westbury Christian School. I am in charge of the hiring and the finances of the school. I work for a board.

“My first 14 years I served as the athletic director and basketball coach. We were fortunate enough to play in the state tournament all 14 years and we advanced to the championship game 13 times. We won 12 of them. That was a blessing. We had good players.”

Tell us about your family.

“My wife, Loa, is a graduate of Lipscomb. She graduated in 1985, a year ahead of me. She was a cheerleader. She is the light of my life. She has stuck with me for over 25 years. I am more than thankful for that.

“We have three children. The oldest, Amber, graduated from Lipscomb last year and is doing an internship at the Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas. Richard is the next in line. He is a sophomore at Harding University where he plays soccer. He is getting married in March. The youngest, Cody, is a senior at Westbury Christian. He has signed a baseball scholarship to play at Louisiana State as a pitcher. I always envisioned him wearing a purple and gold uniform. I didn’t envision it far enough. I thought it would be Lipscomb’s purple and gold.”